WGR Sports Radio 550 - The Buffalo Sabres got some bad news about goaltender Alex Lyon. On Wednesday from the morning skate in Dallas, Lindy Ruff told reporters that Lyon has returned to Buffalo with a lower-body injury suffered late in Monday’s win over the St. Louis Blues. Ruff said he’ll “Miss a bit of time.”
Colten Ellis has been practicing fully for awhile and will be activated off IR from a concussion suffered Dec. 9.
Going into this game with the Dallas Stars, Buffalo has won nine-straight games with Lyon taking seven of them. In his last eight games Lyon is 7-0-0 with a 2.12 goals against and .921 save percentage. Before that, he hadn't won a game since Oct. 24 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. From Day 1 until his current streak started, Lyon was 3-6-3 with a 3.23 goals against and .899 save percentage.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will take over the No. 1 role and has beaten the New Jersey Devils on the road and the Boston Bruins at home during these nine wins. His goals against in those two games is 1.00 and his save percentage is .960.
It took a nine-game winning streak to get there, but the Sabres hold down Wild Card No. 1 in the Eastern Conference with a points percentage of .579. Both the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals are at .577, but Washington has the eighth and final spot with the tie breaker.
If you’re thinking about the top three sports in the Atlantic Division, The Tampa Bay Lightning are in first place at .618. The Montreal Canadiens are second at .615 followed by the Detroit Red Wings at .613.
The Colorado Avalanche have two regulation losses in 38 games, so it’s only natural to assume the Stars are behind them in the Central Division. Colorado has a points percentage of .855 while Dallas is at .731. These two teams are also the top two teams in the NHL.
With 23 goals Jason Robertson is fifth in the NHL. Mikko Rantanen has 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points which is fifth in the league. Robertson has 45 points as does Wyatt Johnston which ranks them 10th in scoring.
Miko Heiskanen provides offense from the blue line with seven goals and 27 assists for 34 points. He ranks fifth amongst defensemen.
In goal Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith have been alternating lately with it being DeSmith’s turn Wednesday if they stay with that rotation. DeSmith is 9-1-4 with a 2.33 goals against and .915 save percentage while Oettinger is 16-6-3 with a 2.51 goals against and a .910 save percentage.
The Stars are second in the NHL in goal scoring and fourth in goals against. Their power play is second and their penalty kill is seventh.
Join Brian Koziol and me for pregame coverage on WGR Sports Radio 550 starting at 7 p.m.
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